Camaraderie stole the spotlight at the Torino Film Festival as Spike Lee and Antonio Banderas each dropped to one knee, presenting the other with a lifetime achievement award at Friday’s opening ceremony. The American auteur and Spanish icon were among 12 film luminaries honored with the festival’s Stella della Mole trophy, modeled on the 12-point star that crowns Turin’s iconic National Cinema Museum. Filmmakers Claude Lelouch and Alexander Sokurov, and actors Jacqueline Bisset, Daniel Brühl, and Hanna Schygulla were also celebrated, before the festival kicked off with a screening of David Freyne’s “Eternity.” “Acting has made me who I am,” Banderas said in Italian, addressing the stylish crowd at Turin’s Teatro Regio opera house. “This story began in the theater, and now I’m finding my way back. I continue to make films, of course, but theater remains a marvelous club my home. Today, we live surrounded by artificial intelligence, yet theater reminds us of natural intelligence.” Lee, by contrast, seemed less eager to tread the boards or step before the camera anew, joking that he only starred in his feature debut “She’s Gotta Have It” out of economic necessity. “I was only in that film because we had no budget, so I couldn’t pay anyone,” he deadpanned. “Now, I have a budget.” From Saturday onwards, the city’s cinemas will host world and regional premieres alongside retrospectives, with attendees swapping evening wear for more casual attire and presenting landmark films to audiences across town. “We’re looking to foster conversations between generations,” festival artistic director Giulio Base told Variety. “I want Torino to be a place to discover new voices, revisit the masters, and fall in love with cinema all over again with no distractions, just the shared light of the screen.” True to that mission, the festival’s 43rd edition opened with a musical tribute to Paul Newman, the subject of a 24-film career retrospective this year. More than 70 members of a local youth choir performed the “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” anthem “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” against a big-screen slideshow celebrating Newman’s most iconic roles. The whimsical homage culminated with a video address from Clea Newman, who has long stewarded her father’s legacy and was delighted to share it with the Italian audience. Running Nov. 21-29, this year’s festival will showcase 104 features and 16 shorts, including 23 world premieres and 11 international debuts. The lineup of special guests also includes Jason Biggs, Dominique Sanda, James Franco, Dolph Lundgren, Vanessa Redgrave, Terry Gilliam, Mascha Schilinski, Juliette Binoche and Alejandro Amenábar.
https://variety.com/2025/film/festivals/spike-lee-antonio-banderas-torino-paul-newman-1236588971/
Spike Lee, Antonio Banderas Celebrate Each Other at Torino Film Festival
